Iphone 6

[wenrob]

Can you clarify the bolded? I'm not sure I'm understanding you.

It is my understanding that only shared data plans are affected and that if you don't have shared data plans, your data plan charges will remain the same with no additional monthly access charge.

The older plans will remain the same as far as I know but they will not go down once the phone is paid off either. Most, if not all of us started our plans with a two year contract. The balance of your phone was rolled into that plan. When your contract is up, you are still paying that price even though you now own the phone. Most just roll right into another contract and keep the same price, which is fine but if you decide to stay out of contract, you're still paying the same as if you were still on contract. To get out of a contract you'd have to pay the remaining balance of the phone, that's why termination fees are so outrageous. My point was that we're all paying full pop for these phones no matter how it is presented to us.

The mobile share plans charge a flat fee for the plan. In my case, we pay $100 for 10GB to share with unlimited text and talk for everyone on the plan. It costs each phone on the plan $15 for access off contract. Adding a Next phone will add (in my case because I'm getting the 64gb phone) $31.40 to my bill. I can pay that off any time I want and that charge will be removed from my bill and I'll go back to paying just the plan and $15 fee.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

I plan to keep my phone for at least 2 years and didn't mind paying the $300 upfront (for the +), so the Next program wasn't a good option for me. My monthly charges for text, talk, and data went down (I switched from ATT to Verizon). Of course, you have to be eligible for an upgrade and willing to sign a contract, but aside from the activation fee, it is possible to get a "free" phone since both Verizon and ATT are both offering $ to trade in your old iPhones.

ATT is definitely pushing the Next plan and discouraging people from signing the 2 year contracts. No wonder because in the end they get full price for the phone plus your monthly charges! The ATT guy sat down and drew out the ol' car dealership cost chart for me and that's when I walked. Can't stand the shadiness.

Is the monthly charge cheaper under Verizon than it is under AT&T? I've never had Verizon, but I would assume you have to be paying for that phone somehow. Verizon isn't just eating the cost of a $750 phone.

 

[HLAuburn]

The price of your phone is just worked into your plan and when your two years are up, you will *still* be paying that price even though your phone is technically paid off. With Next or Edge or whatever plan your carrier's plan is, once the phone is paid off that price drops off the bill after two years and you own the phone. If anything the Next program is more transparent than a plan where the contract price is just rolled over and continues even after the contract is up. You are still paying the full price, no matter what.

Maybe my situation is unusual because it's just me on the plan and I don't need a ton of data/min/texts, but even the ATT guys admitted it was better for me to do a 2 year contract. *If* I wanted to add an additional phone or upgrade after 18 months, Next might be the better option, but since I don't expect to do either of those and I can cancel or change plans after my contract is up, I did the contract.

Since there are differert rate plans for Next/Edge vs a contract, I guess it probably does end up being 6 one way, 1/2 dozen the other. Still happy I'm getting a + for $100 and my monthly bill is going down

 

[pryncess527]

Maybe my situation is unusual because it's just me on the plan and I don't need a ton of data/min/texts, but even the ATT guys admitted it was better for me to do a 2 year contract. *If* I wanted to add an additional phone or upgrade after 18 months, Next might be the better option, but since I don't expect to do either of those and I can cancel or change plans after my contract is up, I did the contract.

Since there are differert rate plans for Next/Edge vs a contract, I guess it probably does end up being 6 one way, 1/2 dozen the other. Still happy I'm getting a + for $100 and my monthly bill is going down

I'm not sure you can really trust the AT&T salesman to tell you the best deal for your situation . . .

By signing a 2-year contract with AT&T, with a plan that has less than 10GB of data, you forfeit a $15 per month discount, so end up paying $360 more than you would with no contract. You can read the AT&T disclaimer language here: http://www.zdnet.com/how-much-does-an-iphone-6-really-cost-hint-its-way-more-than-199-7000033801/

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I signed another two year contract and didn't see anything about a monthly $40 charge. Hrmm.

This thread has me so confused about my plan lol

 

[pryncess527]

I signed another two year contract and didn't see anything about a monthly $40 charge. Hrmm.

This thread has me so confused about my plan lol

There is no $40 monthly charge if you sign a contract. I believe that is for people using the Next plan to finance their phone.

But, when you sign a contract, you forfeit either a $15 or $25 per month discount (depending on your plan).

The point is, either way, the cost of your phone is rolled into your bill, and the phone is more than $199. But the contract makes the charges more obscure.

 

[wenrob]

I signed another two year contract and didn't see anything about a monthly $40 charge. Hrmm.

This thread has me so confused about my plan lol

If you are grandfathered into an older plan your price is not going to change (as far as I know.) However the older plans are generally more because the price of a subsidized phone is built in and usually all services are separate, data, voice, texting etc.

The mobile share plans are one price for a certain amount of data, unlimited voice and text shared among your group for a flat fee plus $15 per phone out of contract to access the plan. If you sign a contract on the lowest capacity phone, you pay $199 and then $25 a month is then added to your bill. ($15+$25=$40) If you get the next capacity it would be $299 and then $28+$15 and so on. With Next it's $25+$15 added for the lowest and then up from there, no money down. Hope this helps.

 

[GOOFY D]

I have continually struggled with the NEXT program as I currently have unlimited data. I know AT&T wants to eliminate all of the unlimited data contracts and NEXT is the way to do it.

 

[wenrob]

I have continually struggled with the NEXT program as I currently have unlimited data. I know AT&T wants to eliminate all of the unlimited data contracts and NEXT is the way to do it.

Do you use the unlimited data? We were hanging onto my husband's but realized he didn't really take advantage of it. Not only that but on the rare occasion when he did use quite a bit they would throttle him. And none of us could tether since we were on the plan with him. After going over our bills and realizing none us ever used that much we let it go and got the mobile plan so that we can tether which comes in handy and still never come close to 10gbs. It's the mobile plans they're pushing to get rid of unlimited but you're right, they want it gone. The question is whether you're actually getting the full value out of keeping it.

 

[Ali]

No I paid for the phone, the $40 is the change in the monthly bring your own phone thing that ATT has done with their 10 G shared plan. If you have a next phone or an old phone pre-February you only pay $15 per month to share the plan.

so the bill is going up by $25 in reality because we were paying $15 for that line previously.

This isn't buying the phone outright, it's subsidizing it. You are putting $300 down and the $40 a month ($15 access fee and $25 towards the phone) are payments for the phone. You don't actually own it until your two years are paid in full. The Next program is leasing to own. You put no money down and the payments are divided up into to 20 or 24 months at which time you will then own the phone. The biggest difference is that you can pay off the Next phone at any time and it belongs to you and the payments will be removed from your bill. You can trade at 12 or 18 months if you choose, they'll waive the rest of the payments and you can start over which is essentially trading in for $2-300. If you are not on a mobile share plan when on contract you will continue to pay the extra money on a contract phone even after the contract is over. In the end, after two years you are paying the same price whether you have Next or contract. If you are still on an old plan, you will be paying more on contractsince those payments continue after the contract is up.

I have a 6 ordered on Next. I will put the price of a trade in towards it and then pay it off after the first of the year. Can't wait to get it, I'm especially excited about the camera and Apple Pay.

 

[wenrob]

No I paid for the phone, the $40 is the change in the monthly bring your own phone thing that ATT has done with their 10 G shared plan. If you have a next phone or an old phone pre-February you only pay $15 per month to share the plan.

so the bill is going up by $25 in reality because we were paying $15 for that line previously.

You paid $300 and now your bill went up $25 a month, is that what you're saying? If that's the case, you subsidized the the phone, that's what that $25 is for. They do not sell brand new iPhones for $300. You have to pay that extra $25 for two years correct? That's not buying the phone outright, it's putting money down and then paying off over the course of time.

No contract and/or bring your own-$15 a month access fee
Two year contract-down payment and $25(or more depending on phone capacity)+$15 access fee for two years
Next-no down payment, price of the phone divided by 20 or 24 months+$15 access fee
Eta: http://www.zdnet.com/how-much-does-an-iphone-6-really-cost-hint-its-way-more-than-199-7000033801/

 

[Ali]

All in All I choose to see this differently, thanks for sharing the link though. I did read it, I do understand it, but to me, I bought a new phone and that means we are paying more to have the phone on the shared data plan. I don't look at it as I am paying off the phone costs every month. Having a smart phone is an expensive toy and we enjoy having them. I just felt good about paying for the phone instead of having to pay monthly for it, and it seems like you are trying to rip that happiness away from me but I'm not going to let you.

I believe! I Believe, I know it's silly but I believe!

 

[wenrob]

LOL, I wasn't trying to take away your happiness. Sorry if it seemed that way. I'm glad you're happy with your choice.

 

[flowerboy]

What if you have unlimited data grandfathered? Do you have to pay for the phone outright or sign new contract but keep everything the same? I thought with att its still the same but with verizon and t mobile you have to pay for the phone either outright or installment plans. I don't want to lose my unlimited data, even though I know they toggle lte. I never had a lte phone so unlimited 3 g is fast enough for me in my area.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

What if you have unlimited data grandfathered? Do you have to pay for the phone outright or sign new contract but keep everything the same? I thought with att its still the same but with verizon and t mobile you have to pay for the phone either outright or installment plans. I don't want to lose my unlimited data, even though I know they toggle lte. I never had a lte phone so unlimited 3 g is fast enough for me in my area.

When we upgraded in April of this year to the 5s, we kept our plan with unlimited data, paid a $40 one time upgrade fee for each phone line and paid only the $200/$300/$400 charged at Apple. Our monthly charge for 2 phones, all in, is $118.

I appreciate that I'm probably paying about $900/24 months for the 2 phones but im not sure I could get comparable service for 2 iPhones for much less than $80 (including taxes). -- Suzanne

 

[Ariel484]

Since I use my phone for work sometimes they give us a $250 reimbursement every two years which makes it easy to justify new technology.

The 6 is too large, but I didn't want to 'waste' the stipend on a 5S when I had a 5. Large or not it was much easier to get a 6 on launch day than a 6+... who USES those behemoths? I did trade in with Apple and got $205 towards the purchase as well - might have been able to get more on ebay but I didn't want the hassle and it didn't seem like the 5 was going for much more (and then you have fees and shipping...).

It does feel very nice in the hand but I mainly upgraded to use Apple Pay, have the better camera with focus while shooting video and for the touch technology. I was also running out of room on my 32GB so having a 64GB should get me by for awhile longer!

ME!

Upgraded from my 5 to a 6+ with 64GB of storage. It's taking a little bit of getting used to, but I love it so far. The screen is fantastic, the battery life is better than what I was getting on my 5, and of all the things I use my phone for, actually making calls ranks low on the list, so I'm loving the bigger screen so far.

I was able to take advantage of the Verizon deal where I traded in my 5 for a $200 gift card, so that was nice. My mom did the same - got a 6+ except she traded in her iPhone 4 and got $200. Crazy deal for her.

 

[GOOFY D]

Do you use the unlimited data? We were hanging onto my husband's but realized he didn't really take advantage of it. Not only that but on the rare occasion when he did use quite a bit they would throttle him. And none of us could tether since we were on the plan with him. After going over our bills and realizing none us ever used that much we let it go and got the mobile plan so that we can tether which comes in handy and still never come close to 10gbs. It's the mobile plans they're pushing to get rid of unlimited but you're right, they want it gone. The question is whether you're actually getting the full value out of keeping it.

After visiting an AT&T store, it was evident that keeping it was better than giving it up. If I went to the NEXT plan, my bill would increase more than the costs of the phone payments such that when the payments were over in 2 years, I would be paying more per month for service on a 10GB plan than the current plan I have (with unlimited data). They seem to spend a lot of time pushing a lot of numbers at people in an effort to confuse them.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do you use the unlimited data? We were hanging onto my husband's but realized he didn't really take advantage of it. Not only that but on the rare occasion when he did use quite a bit they would throttle him. And none of us could tether since we were on the plan with him. After going over our bills and realizing none us ever used that much we let it go and got the mobile plan so that we can tether which comes in handy and still never come close to 10gbs. It's the mobile plans they're pushing to get rid of unlimited but you're right, they want it gone. The question is whether you're actually getting the full value out of keeping it.

We had two iPhones with unlimited data (AT&T), which I was reluctant to give up. However, our cell phone bill (4 iPhones) was so outrageous, that I looked into giving it up to go to a family plan with 10 GB of shared data. Turns out the most data we had used per month had been 3 GB, so it was a no brainer to give up the unlimited data. That is saving me over $150 per month, plus I was able to drop our two iPad data plans and add them to the family plan, saving an additional $40 per month. It was a win-win for me.

Anyone interested in the true cost of their iPhone 6 should check out this recent article from The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/technology/199-apple-iphone-6-is-fiction-if-not-fantasy.html

 

[ellochka]

We had two iPhones with unlimited data (AT&T), which I was reluctant to give up. However, our cell phone bill (4 iPhones) was so outrageous, that I looked into giving it up to go to a family plan with 10 GB of shared data. Turns out the most data we had used per month had been 3 GB, so it was a no brainer to give up the unlimited data. That is saving me over $150 per month, plus I was able to drop our two iPad data plans and add them to the family plan, saving an additional $40 per month. It was a win-win for me.

Anyone interested in the true cost of their iPhone 6 should check out this recent article from The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/technology/199-apple-iphone-6-is-fiction-if-not-fantasy.html

I have a discount on the service plan from my work, and it obfuscates it even further. I should do another check. it's probably time to re-check the discounts as our phones are paid off.

 

[GOOFY D]

We had two iPhones with unlimited data (AT&T), which I was reluctant to give up. However, our cell phone bill (4 iPhones) was so outrageous, that I looked into giving it up to go to a family plan with 10 GB of shared data. Turns out the most data we had used per month had been 3 GB, so it was a no brainer to give up the unlimited data. That is saving me over $150 per month, plus I was able to drop our two iPad data plans and add them to the family plan, saving an additional $40 per month. It was a win-win for me.

Anyone interested in the true cost of their iPhone 6 should check out this recent article from The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/technology/199-apple-iphone-6-is-fiction-if-not-fantasy.html

There are some inaccuracies in that article. The "discount" of $25 or $15 a month is compared to what they would charge you on a new plan. However, it is irrelevant if you are renewing a grandfathered plan. I found it more expensive to convert from a current 2 year plan to a NEXT Mobile Share plan (nearly $1,000 more over 24 months). Even after 24 months (when the phone is paid off on the NEXT plan), the monthly charges per the NEXT 10GB plan is more than my current plan (so there is no opportunity to recoup the $1,000 in additional costs of the first 24 months).